The Mindy Project News

I love Christmas episodes and thankfully, so does The Mindy Project, which has nailed all of its Christmas episodes. Make no mistake: this is not a holiday episode, as the office boos about, but a Christmas episode which has so many punchlines and side characters (except a notable absent Tamara) that it’s just a blast to watch.

The episode sticks itself to another Danny and Mindy plot, but this time it doesn’t feel repetitive even if it’s the same material we’ve seen before: Mindy wants to be engaged my Christmas. She’s stalking and investigating Danny’s weird habits only to learn he boug...

What’s most impressive about tonight’s episode is how tightly plotted it is and how uniform the themes are. Usually, there is a clearly an A plot and a B plot and maybe a few little one liners for the cast. Tonight’s plots are interweaved together, showcasing these cartoonish characters as being more of family than anything else.

Annette is overbearing, over involved and judgmental, and Mindy does a great job of putting up with her. But when she interrupts her erotica bath with Danny, it’s another final straw that makes Mindy decide to take action. That means setting Annette up with a very...

If there was an episode for Mindy Kaling to submit to the Emmys, it should be this one. Sure, there are episodes that showcase her character’s amazing chemistry and romance with Danny Castellano, or where she spars against Annette Castellano or wingman for Peter. But this episode is a welcome change to the season three Mindy formula. Mindy’s a doctor again and finally, finally, there is a crack in TV’s best relationship since Tammy and Coach Taylor.

Mindy, equipped with a brand new hair-do courtesy of a dead woman, wants Danny to spend more time at her place, which is an apartment full of...

"We Need To Talk About Annette” is one of Mindy’s finer episodes by far because it pits Mindy versus Annette against one another. Are the Mindy writers taking from the Annette well a little too much? Possibly. But pitting these two against each other doesn’t feel tired yet.

What’s interesting about this episode is that it sets itself up to be about some more soul searching for Mindy. Through Annette’s shoplifting crimes, maybe Mindy will learn stealing is bad. Instead we are reminded that Mindy is petty, but loyal and that she really doesn’t change. She’s the perfect foil for another woman...

What The Mindy Project may have been missing with the past few episodes is just some good old-fashioned character stories. Did we really need Mindy’s dalliance with a lesbian doctor? No. This episode tries to correct that bad taste left in viewer’s mouths by focusing on its favorite three characters Mindy, Danny and Peter with some typical Mindy humor.

What drives the Mindy and Danny stories this episode is Mindy’s inconsiderate perpetual lateness, a character quirk that directly hurts Danny’s fragile psyche. What the episode does so well to resolve this issue by separating them to work it...

After last week’s semi-disapointing and pretty groundbreaking episode, we get a more classic episode for this rocky season. I’ve talked about how the show was getting redundant in its set-ups — a Danny and Mindy A-plot followed by whatever Peter and (cast member who is probably Morgan) are doing — and tonight gladly switches up a bit of the formula.

Yes, Mindy has put the practice in jeopardy by showing up extremely late to a hospital meeting and having her “Fancy” ringtone insult Jean, the HBIC. The practice is given the graveyard shift for their C-sections at the hospital, reminding all ...

Did Mindy just have an entire episode about anal sex without ever saying the word?

Yes it did.

I admire The Mindy Project’s audacious move to talk about anal sex (without mentioning the word, I’ll stress) on network television by saying “It slipped." It’s great that Danny and Mindy are nervous about experimenting with freakier stuff with one another to push their sexual limits. And a lot of the bits were really funny.

I just don’t buy it. Chris Messina is one hell of an actor, but even he couldn’t sell “it slipped” wholly seriously. The episode almost sets up that maybe these two are a...

"My butt does not sound like Fat Marlon Brando.” With jokes like that, you’d assume Mindy scored this week, but instead it is in a bit of a rut, plot-speaking. Sure the jokes are standardly superb, and The Mindy Project produces a solidly standard episode week. It’s just formulaic. The formula goes like this:

Mindy and Danny scene that is casual, but sets the pieces of the plot up. Then an office scene with everyone together. Peter has his own subplot, this season involving his girlfriend Lauren. And back to the issue of what Mindy and Danny are going through. That doesn’t mean any of what...

After two seasons of building up to it, The Mindy Project grants our greatest wish: not to see Mindy and Danny together as a couple but to finally meet Danny’s mom, Annette Castellano! And luckily for us, she’s played by Cheers veteran Rhea Perlman, who is simply fantastic as Danny's overbearing, tough and secretive mother.

The episode wastes almost no time into introducing us to the infamous Mrs. Castellano, stopping by to drop by TV Magazines for Danny’s apartment, who mistakenly (and with great racism) assumes Mindy is a cleaning lady. Mindy is horrified. Dear young Mindy is too self-ab...

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Clear your social calendar and your DVR because your favorite returning shows are back with a stack of new episodes, new secrets, no bombshells and new ships. Here are 8 giant spoilers for the upcoming new season of premieres of your favorite returning shows!

Revenge, ABC

Call it a "Revenge" Smackdown! EOnline.com spills that with David Clark (James Tupper) alive and kicking, both matriarchs Emily (Emily VanCamp) and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) will battle to gain control of him like the evil puppeteers they are. What's more? Daddy Deare...

Mindy Lahiri and Danny Castellano declared their love for one another in the season two finale and it would have been a satisfying end to their saga had the show not been picked up for a third season. But thank god that that happened because Danny and Mindy dating is maybe my favorite thing on TV.

Not only is their sexual chemistry hot, hot, hot, but their first major couple squabble is rather hilarious. Mindy, over-sharer that she prides herself in being, is telling everyone how great Danny is at sex and all of Danny’s tiny, boring secrets. The office is, of course, thrilled to learn one ...

Now that all the big networks have revealed what they’ll be showing us this fall, let’s take a look at what may or may not work.

SUNDAY:

ABC is essentially playing it safe, and keeping Sunday Night intact. American Crime will swap for Resurrection at midseason. Resurrection was a buzzy drama that started seeing a ratings decline. Not waiting till midseason is probably a smart move. You don’t want to lose any more audience. It’s not a winning strategy, but ABC just doesn’t want to be in last place.

Tonight, The Mindy Project has its second-season finale, and the title alone - "Danny and Mindy" - promises a big development for Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) and her ex-boyfriend Danny Castellano (Chris Messina). Before that moment, though, BFTV sat down with Mindy Project executive producer and director Michael Spiller to talk about the finale and working on one of FOX's veteran comedies.

"Fans of the show will not be disappointed," he told us. "I'm really excited about the season finale. We've sort of been building for it for two whole seasons. A lot of the episodes I've done are big in ...

NBC- The Voice is still doing good numbers on Monday/Tuesday. The Blacklist is winning its timeslot, and was the first show (technically) to be rewarded with a back-nine pickup. Chicago Fire is also doing solid numbers on Tuesday. Revolution needs to regain some audience members if it wants a second season. With the success of The Blacklist, and Chicago Fire doing OK, Revolution is looking to be one of NBC’s weaker points right now. I can’t see it not running the full second season, but it might not get a third. Also, Ironside is definitely going to get cancelled. The premiere was so low, a...

ABC doesn’t have a lot to celebrate about. Once Upon A Time and Revenge are both down season-to-season, yet up from last season’s finales. So, really, you could say they are even for the night. Their new drama, Betrayal, however is a disappointment. Low ratings. Does ABC have anything ready to replace Betrayal though? They’re already definitely going to cancel the much lower rated Lucky 7 (an almost certainty), can they afford to axe two shows?

CBS has a nice strong lineup of returning shows, all performing well. FOX’s shows are ...

The problem with having the perfect couple in a show about a single doctor is that eventually they’re going to have to break up. The Mindy Project is only in the second season, so clearly Casey and Mindy were never going to be endgame, especially when the non-threatening Danny is still making moon eyes at Mindy for some inexplicable reason. While Mindy’s dating life is often the highlight of the show, her relationships usually end like a Saturday Night Live skit: abruptly and with very little grace.

The writers haven’t quite past the stage where they believe we should all be enamored with ...

Welcome to one of the worst ever episodes of The Mindy Project. It’s an episode that proves that the writers have given up caring, haven’t listened to any of the criticism from the first season, and revel in their insensitivity.

What Went Wrong:

Too Much James Franco: Multiple times in the episode, James Franco attempts to be cute. Other characters make mention of his cuteness. Problem is: Franco’s baby talk doesn’t come anywhere near cute. It’s creepy and evokes images of the sort of serial killer who keeps his mother’s dead body under his bed. Even though he was only in two episodes, ...

Kim Kardashian's ex-husband Kris Humphries made a cameo appearance on the latest episode of The Mindy Project.

Humphries, whose divorce from the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star was finalized in May, plays himself and indirectly pokes fun at his single status as a new member of the 'Getting Over It' gang on the Fox show, which aired on Tuesday night.

The 28-year-old basketball player told UsMagazine.com that he was anxious about his cameo. He said: "You're always nervous where people are really talented and you don't do this really, but as time went on, just being out there and messin...

When we last left Mindy Lahiri and her self-involved band of fools, a newly short-haired Mindy and her minister boyfriend, Casey, were off to Haiti to help rebuild and give medical attention. Danny was back with his ex-wife, desperate to cling on to his old life. The other members of the practice…existed. Really, there were no discernible storylines for anybody else.

We pick up a few months later in Haiti with a montage that doesn’t give us much more information than we left off last season. Danny is still stuck in a loveless relationship, pinning away for Mindy for God-knows what reason. ...

The Mindy Project had a great first season! And as it enters it's second season tonight, we're all looking forward to what the series has to bring. That being said, the first season wasn't perfect - and there's more than a couple things that could be changed to move the series forward to a great, memorable and triumphant second season. Here's just a few of my ideas on how season two could trump season one.

1. Stop Trying to Force Unlikeable, Unfunny Side Characters On Us

Is anybody a fan of Jeremy Reed, the English doctor with the womanizing problem? How about Betsy, the secretary with sa...

Last season the Fox freshman comedy, "The Mindy Project" became funniest and most relatable shows on television, thanks to star and exec producer, Mindy Kaling and its incredible cast. The show ended with Mindy chopping off her hair and flitting off to Haiti with my favorite pastor. The new season kicks off on Sept. 17 at 9:30pm EST on FOX, so here are five spoilers you need to know...

He put a ring on it. In a genius parody of the climax of every rom-coms ever made, Mindy beckoned Pastor Casey (Anders Holm) outside his window, accepted his invitation to Haiti and they lived happily...

Booth and Bones find a friend in the priesthood. The priest will help counsel the couple. Oh, he's an ex-priest now working as a bartender. A wedding's in the works for Bones and Booth. Apparently, the wedding will happen. I've found absolutely nothing about Bones solving murders. The early going of the season seems focused on romance.

NEW GIRL returns Tuesday, September 17 at 9PM

I've heard a few interviews with New Girl creator, Liz Meriweather. I really dig listening to her talking about wri...

With roughly two weeks left before the final curtain of the 2012-2013 television season, avid television fans are bound to be curious about the finales of their favorite shows. I, your faithful TV addict, am here to guide through the minefield of deaths, break-ups, and the cliffhangers that will haunt you all summer. Here are five spoilers you need to know on “Scandal,” “Castle” and more…

Scandal

Shonda Rhimes’ twisty, crazy, sexy sudser has turned in two fantastic seasons packed with “WTF?” twists, and the May 16 finale will reportedly out scandal “Scandal.” Not only will Albatros...

On this week’s episode of The Mindy Project, we learned more about Danny Castellano through his questionable childhood friend, Stevie. Although “Danny’s Friend” primarily revolved around Danny, he wasn’t the only person getting a blast from the past. Mindy was graced with a follow up visit from Heather, portrayed by The Office’s Ellie Kemper, Josh’s manic other ex-girlfriend who caused quite a scene the last time she swung by her apartment.

Mindy spends the morning with Maggie, her college pal (who’s still in a wheelchair), when she receives a knock at the door from Heather. It turns out t...

Will we get the chance to see Reese Witherspoon as a guest star on The Mindy Project soon? Witherspoon certainly hopes so!

Extra recently caught up with Reese Witherspoon at the “March of Dimes Celebrates Babies” event, where she gushed to Terri Seymour about her new baby boy, getting back to work and the possibility of collaborating with Mindy.

Reese on working with Mindy Kaling: “Oh, I would love to. I love Mindy, she’s so smart… it’s so great to have such a talented female writer out there, so hopefully we’re going to collaborate soon. I would love it.

Around this time of year, it’s important to give thanks for everything we have—good food, good family, and a cornucopia of new and returning television shows to love, like or downright hate, so I’m grading seven new and returning television shows...

"New Girl"

What sophomore slump? If you thought the comedy about the most adorable of dorks living with three guys was ripe with cleverness, eccentric humor and GIF-able moments in its first season, you weren’t prepared for the second. Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, and Lamorne Morris have bought the heat, the funny and...

Mindy Kaling was one of the standout employees of Dunder Mifflin on The Office. She’s got her own show now, which she created and in which she stars. The Mindy Project is Kaling’s version of a romantic comedy, where her character is obsessed with romantic comedies.

“I think the character really wants to picture herself as the protagonist in a romantic comedy,” Kaling told the Television Critics Association this summer. “Zoe [Jarman]'s character, she'll like, ‘Okay. She'll be my, like, sidekick receptionist, and she's be this,’ and where the comedy is, is how that doesn't match up to what...

It's that time of year again. Television fans have appointments with their couches as the fall season kicks off this month with tons of returning favorites and new shows. DVRs will be working overtime as viewers record their must-see-TV programs and talk about them later at the watercooler.

Check out the premiere dates of the new season (brand new shows are indicated with italics and by *). All times are eastern unless otherwise indicated.